Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

Hi Jim,

I am about to plant some peppers (both sweet and hot) and did a quick search into your brain. (oopss... i.e. the Mittleider Yahoo groups) :-)

I got a few follow up questions to this old thread...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MittleiderMethodGardening/message/4648

1) Shouldn't we also be adding 3/4th ounce of weekly feed to the trays before putting the seeds in them? Per my understanding we should be adding 1.5 ounces of PP and 0.75 ounces of WF to one cubic foot of seedling tray soil and mix it in thoroughly before putting the seed. Please clarify...

Also in some other posts I've seen 1 ounce PP and 0.5 ounce WF in one cubic foot of tray soil. I'm aware things might have changed over time... please do give me your latest thoughts on this.

2) Should we be watering EVERY SINGLE DAY with plain water till the seedlings emerge?

Thanks for your help once again Jim,
Best Regards,
Bhavani Prasad

Bhavani & Group:

The above post has good advice on growing seedlings - everyone would do well to copy this post and keep it handy if you are planning on seedling production.

Please note that a seedling tray 18" X 18" X 3" holds only HALF a cubic foot of soil mix, so use 1/2 the amounts listed above. And the long black plastic trays used in the U.S. hold only .3 cubic feet, so adjust accordingly.

The amount of fertilizer used in seedling trays amounts to one and a half times the amount used after the plants get to the garden, and Jacob never explained the reason for it. The post in which I used 1 ounce and 1/2 ounce was using the in-the-garden quantities - sorry.

If you plant (either seeds or seedlings) into an 18"-wide Grow-Box or soil-bed you should apply 1 ounce per running foot of PP and 1/2 ounce per running foot of WF. This amounts to 1 ounce PP and 1/2 ounce WF per CUBIC FOOT also.

It is necessary to get the WF in the ground before the seeds are planted in the garden because it cannot be mixed with the soil AFTER the plants are up without disturbing the roots.

Following are the reasons behind NOT putting WF in the trays when planting seeds:
1) the seed has sufficient nutrition to sprout and begin growing,
2) fertilizer salts in close proximity to sprouting seeds can burn and kill the new seedling,
3) the new seedling is fed with Constant Feed solution immediately upon emergence, and
4) the young seedling will be transplanted into another tray that DOES have WF in it after a short time.

Water the trays to maintain soil moisture, but do not over-water. Too much wetness can drown and cause damping-off of your seedlings. A good investment is a simple soil moisture probe.

Jim Kennard

• New Members 13